


i know i should be home

by barelyrachaelll



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Affairs, Cheating, Established Relationship, Guilt, M/M, Patrick owns a book store, but how do i write ryan without writing ryden is the real question, def ryan becuase i would give my life for that b, don't hate me, i dont really know who is going to be in this, thats really their only roll here, tyler and josh work at the book store
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-03 14:24:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8717374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barelyrachaelll/pseuds/barelyrachaelll
Summary: Patrick Stump most definitely did not have the perfect life, but sometimes it felt like he did. Having a perfect life would mean his car was two years newer, he and Brendon never fought, his house was always clean, and he never thought about Pete Wentz.But who cared, Pete was his exception to everything.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright here ya go, the fic ive had on my mind for freaking months, literally forever. so here it is. im beyond excited and I really hope this can have some length to it. enjoy.

Patrick Stump most definitely did not have the perfect life, but sometimes it felt like he did. Having a perfect life would mean his car was two years newer, he and Brendon never fought, his house was always clean, and he never thought about Pete Wentz.

But as it was, Patrick's car was already two years old, his dishes needed to be done, and he still got snappy with Brendon. And sometimes, though Patrick would never tell a soul, when it was raining and late at night, Patrick saw Pete when he closed his eyes.

Patrick could feel the warmth of Brendon's body against him. It was late, getting close to four in the morning. The rain outside was creating a steady hum on the window above their bed. Patrick had woken up to pee and somehow hadn't been able to go back to sleep. For whatever reason, probably because he couldn't get himself to fall back asleep, he decided to get on Twitter.

The thing was, Patrick didn't ever really get on Twitter. Or Instagram, or Snapchat or really any social media. Sometimes Facebook, but that was only to keep up with his family. The idea of having all his virtual friends a click away wasn't all that appealing to him. A part of him knew deep down why it wasn't appealing to him, but that was a secret he kept hidden to himself when he wasn't hiding it from himself.

He honestly didn't know why he thought it would be a good idea to get on Twitter, because he had only been scrolling for about thirty seconds when he saw what he had been hoping to avoid. It was stupid, really, to let it bother him. It was stupid to even give it a second thought, let alone a third, fourth, fifth and twentieth. It was a picture, for crying out loud. A blurry picture of two smiles that shouldn't even affect Patrick.

And yet, here he was. Affected. Turning away from his boyfriend asleep next to him, trying to create distance between the heat of their bodies next to each other.

He scrolled down, trying to forget it. It was only a couple seconds before he scrolled back up, stopping at the picture again.

He sighed, and because he decided he hated himself, he liked the picture. Then, upon panicking to himself, he thought about un-liking it. But Pete had already got the notification, and if he unliked it then it would just look suspicious.

The tweet was simple: "@petewentz: did u know @mikeyway is the sunshine in my dark night" with a blurry picture of them smiling.

Patrick had no right to be upset, okay. He knew that. He understood. But his chest still ached in a way that only Pete could make it. It had been years for crying out loud. Literal years. Patrick hadn't seen Pete in years, and he hadn't talked to Pete in almost as long. Above all, Patrick had no right to be upset that Pete was in a relationship ( _"Trick, you know I can't just be tied down like that. I thought you knew what this was._ _"_ ) Pete and Patrick had never actually been together in a way that could be classified as anything other than sleeping together.

They were young, which is probably why it tore Patrick apart so bad. They were young and stupid and loved each other while saying the whole time "no feelings, no feelings." Patrick had known through the entire relationship that there were some kinds of feelings from Pete, even if it wasn't as intense as what Patrick felt. Why else would Pete let it go on for almost two years?

And because he hated himself even more, apparently, he clicked on Pete's icon, taking him to Pete's profile. He scrolled through Pete's twitter, noticing how most of his tweets were just nonsense. Every once in a while, though, there was a tweet to or about this mikeyway. Patrick didn't know who he was, had never even heard of him, but felt something so intense it was almost like a hatred. Patrick knew logically that he didn't hate mikeyway, couldn't hate someone he didn't know.

After scrolling for a while, he closed the app. It was closer to 4:30 now, and if he didn't own the store to go in whenever he wanted tomorrow, he would be screwed. He laid his phone on his nightstand and turned around to be face-to-face with his boyfriend. Brendon snuggled closer to him, wanting Patrick even in his unconscious state. Patrick felt a wave of guilt wash over him; why was he worrying about some kid who never loved him, when laying in the bed next to him was someone who undoubtedly did? Patrick kissed Brendon's forehead softly, and even in his sleeping state, he hummed in happiness.

 

The next morning, Patrick wouldn't say he _forgot_ about the twitter thing the night before, but he definitely wasn't actively thinking about it. How could he? He was getting ready for work and Brendon was still in bed, whining about how Patrick owns the bookstore, why does he have to go in everyday? Patrick smiled and leaned in the kiss his cheek, reminding him he only goes in maybe twice, three times a week.

"Still too much," Brendon grumbled under his breath.

Patrick laughed, in a good mood despite his lack of sleep last night. He suspected it was just false energy and he would crash later, but he figured he could deal with that when the time came.

Patrick had only opened his little bookstore around eight months or so ago. It took him a while to save up the money for that kind of investment and a lot of encouragement from his friends and fiancé before he actually made the idea a reality. Between The Pages had both new and used books, and had become quite popular over the more recent months. He had a handful of good employees that he enjoyed working with, and he liked having the freedom to come and go as he pleased. All around, it was a good gig and Patrick was happy he had gone through with it.

Patrick stayed at the store for a few hours, helping customers and just hanging out with the guys he had working today, Tyler and Josh. They had been his first employees when he opened and he was pretty pleased they had stayed this long. They were good company, and they knew their books. What more could Patrick ask for?

It was in that moment that Josh screamed out loud, slamming the book he was reading down on the counter. Tyler and Patrick immediately halted their conversation, turning to look at Josh. Tyler raised his eyebrows at Josh, and Patrick was sure his expression mirrored in "what the fuck" manner.

"He fucking killed her, the author _killed_ my main character. I loved her. I would have given my first born for the woman," Josh told them.

Tyler rolled his eyes and turned back to Patrick, who told Josh he was sincerely sorry. Tyler then rolled his eyes at Patrick. "Josh has literally only been reading that book today, he isn't that invested."

Josh looked scandalized at that, but didn't say anything else, going back to his book.

The rest of Patrick's day went on without any event, until it was late in the evening. His phone lit up with a notification. He ignored it, but when his phone lit up again, Patrick looked over. It was the same notification, just his phone reminding him that it had been two minutes and he hadn't opened it.

Patrick's heart stopped. It then started beating very fast. Patrick honestly had no room to be surprised, he really did not, but he still was. Of course if he liked one of Pete's tweets, Pete was bound to do something back. It wasn't even a big deal, really. Pete just liked his tweet. Granted, it was one that was a few months old, but still. All it said was "if you are what you eat then I'm mostly cereal." Honestly, not a big deal, not at all.

Except it meant that Pete had seen the notification about Patrick and had given it more than a split second thought. Pete had gone out of his way to go to Patrick's account, scroll down, and like a tweet about cereal. Patrick was almost 89% sure that he was reading too much into it.

But a part of himself that he hated told him he maybe wasn't just reading into it, maybe Pete thought about him sometimes, too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also please let me know what you think


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so basically this is going to be my baby for a while. i literally have no idea who is going to be in this, but i know what i'm going to do. warning, this chapter has some brentrick fluff.

Brendon Urie was nice, and Patrick loved him very much. Enough to say yes when Brendon proposed. Enough to really mean it, even, and to be excited about getting married. Brendon was a few inches taller than Patrick's 5'5", he has fancy looking chocolate brown hair, almond eyes, a strong jaw line and the most delicious lips Patrick had ever had the pleasure of putting against his own. Basically, Brendon was like a fucking model and sometimes Patrick still questioned how he had been lucky enough to land such a babe like him.

What Patrick never questioned, though, was how much Brendon loved him. They had met at a bookstore a couple years back and hadn't instantly hit it off in a relationship type way, but there was definitely an immediate feeling of comfort. They were fast friends, bonding over books and bands. It didn't take long for Patrick friendly smiles to turn into gazes filled with want, and luckily, Brendon hadn't been shy about returning his feelings. Fast forward a year and four months into their relationship, and Brendon was proposing. Patrick wondered if it was a bit fast to be doing things, but he and Brendon had agreed that there was no rush to actually get married. Patrick felt more at ease after that, but he was still excited to spend his future with Brendon. He was proud to tell people that Brendon, yes Brendon fucking Urie, was his fiance. It sort of made Patrick feel like he was better, something more interesting because Brendon had almost become apart of him.

Their relationship wasn't perfect. Patrick had a short temper and Brendon had a snarky mouth, but overall, the love between them was clear. No one ever questioned that Patrick and Brendon loved each other deeply. They didn't fight often, and even when they did it was almost never anything big. They still went out and did cute little couple things, they still smiled and took pictures for Brendon's social media. Everything was still good.

And yet. Here Patrick was, letting stupid fucking Pete Wentz control some of his thoughts, again.

It hadn't happened too many times again. It had been almost a month since the first night Patrick had liked Pete's tweet. Pete had continued liking Patrick's tweets, and Patrick would be lying if he said that wasn't one of the reasons he was tweeting more. Sometimes he even got brave and liked another one of Pete's tweets (by sometimes he meant it happened once. Pete had only even liked his tweets three more times. Granted, Patrick had only tweeted four more times.) Still, four times felt like a lot to be tweeting in a month.

He tried not to let it cross his mind too much, he really did. It just didn't work out very well.

It was on a Thursday afternoon. Patrick had just got home from the bookstore. It had been a pretty busy day at Between The Pages, leaving Patrick honestly feeling pretty tired. He was laying on the couch, some mindless TV show on in the background, trying to figure out something good to tweet. Again, he would never admit that he put thoughts into his tweets, but he kind of did. It was at that moment that Brendon burst through the door.

His hair was a bit wet, and he was just wearing plain jeans and a zip up jacket. He held a cup of to go coffee in his hand, and somehow, he looked both like he needed to be warmed and like he already was warm. Patrick smiled at him, and held his arm out to invite Brendon to come lay on the couch with him. Brendon set his cup down on the coffee table and squeezed next to Patrick on the too-small sofa.

"Hey, baby," Patrick whispered, kissing Brendon's temple. Brendon hummed as snuggled closer to Patrick. 

"Hi, love. How was your day?" Brendon kissed Patrick on the lips and Patrick remembered why he was so in love.

When he pulled back, he answered, "It was good. Got pretty busy, though. Andy was working today, so was Sarah. They kept the place pretty calm. But it was okay, just wore me out. How was yours?"

Brendon turned so that he was laying on his stomach and propped up onto his elbows. Just by his expression, Patrick could tell he was about to share something he found very exciting. That was one of the things Patrick loved about Brendon: how excited he got over small things. It was good to have such happiness around him.

"Do you remember my friend Spencer? I've known him since high school?" Patrick nodded after a second, and Brendon continued. "Well, apparently a new coffee shop opened down the road from the bookstore! Like, in the building next to the psychic next to you? It just opened like, last week, and Spencer works there! He texted me about it earlier and since I didn't have anything to do today," he paused to reach over and pick up the coffee cup on the table, "I went! It was pretty cute actually, called something like Cup of Destiny or something like that? I don't know, but the coffee was hella good. And how cool that it's right by the store, right!" Brendon was in full on excitement mode. Patrick leaned forward to kiss him, because how could he not?

"That's really cool, Bren. I'm glad you got to see him."

Brendon's eyes lit up even more than they already were, if that was possible. Patrick raised his eyebrows, waiting for whatever it was Brendon had just thought of. "Oh my gosh, babe, we could go now! Together! You said you're tired, right?"

Patrick touched Brendon's hair. Did he mention he loved this kid? "Sure, baby, but didn't you already go?"

Brendon nodded with much enthusiasm, telling Patrick that yes he went, but Patrick didn't, and that was reason enough to go again. That was how Patrick found himself driving in the rain the seven minute drive to the coffee shop.

The place was actually called Cup of Destiny, which was printed inside a coffee cup in neon lights above the door. The coffee shop was where there had previously been a really bad sushi place, and Patrick briefly wondered if they had been able to get rid of the smell. Patrick had only been to the sushi place the one time, but that one time was enough for him to make the decision to go across town for sushi from then on. From the outside, this coffee shop already looked a million times better than the sushi place ever did.

Brendon got out of the car first, leading the way into the shop like he was some kind of expert in the one time he had been here. Patrick had to admit, it was a cute place. The coffee bar was at the back of the building, with a bunch of small wooden tables spread across the floor. The decor of the place was cute. It felt very warm and cozy and smelled faintly of vanilla. Patrick was looking at all the pictures on the wall. Most of them were black and white pictures of various nature scenes, occasionally one with a little cottage or something of that sort. There were chandeliers hanging down, providing enough light in the shop to keep it from being too dark to function. The sun was setting, and Patrick suspected that during the day the large windows at the front let in a lot of sunlight. Patrick did notice a little quote on the wall:"  A cup of destiny, a taste of fate." Patrick made a mental note to tweet that later. 

"It's cool, huh?" Brendon said, wrapping his arms around Patrick from behind him. Patrick nodded and leaned back into Brendon, feeling at home in this little shop. Honestly, if the coffee was good, Patrick could making coming here a habit, just because of how close it was to the store and how cute the place was. "Wanna go order some coffee?" Brendon asked.

Patrick nodded and Brendon led them back to the counter. Brendon's friend Spencer was at the register, and smiled bigger when they got close. 

"Good enough that you had to come back so soon?" Spencer asked, nodding at Patrick, "Good to see you again, man."

Patrick smiled. Spencer had always been nice when Patrick had met him, even if it had only been a handful of times. Spencer had moved away for a while but it seemed he was back. Patrick figured that would be good for Brendon, to have a good friend so close. "What do you recommend?" Patrick asked him, a bit overwhelmed by the swirly handwritten menu. 

"Do you like hazelnut?" Spencer asked, to which Patrick just shrugged. He didn't dislike it but he certainly hadn't ever given it much thought. Usually when he went to Starbucks he just order a plain vanilla latte, but he figured he would let Spencer choose something he knew would be good. "I've really been digging our hazelnut mocha latte lately."

Patrick smiled at him again, "Sounds good to me. A medium, please." 

Brendon and Patrick stood at the end of the bar, waiting for Patrick's coffee. They talked about little things, like their plans for the upcoming week. Patrick had his back to the bar, so when Brendon nudged him that his coffee was ready, he turned around to get it.

When his eyes landed on the person holding out his coffee, he froze. His eyes widened, his heart stopped, and he was sure he wouldn't have been able to scream even if he tried. 

Standing in front of him, holding his coffee out, with a pleasant smile on his face, was Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz The Third. 

"Uh," was all Patrick managed to say. He hesitantly took the coffee from Pete. He kind of stood there for a second, making eye contact, but not really sure was he was expecting. 

"You're welcome, Trick," Pete told him, nodding like he knew Patrick was at a loss. He probably did. Patrick flinched at how easy Pete said the old nickname, like he hadn't whispered it to Patrick in the middle of the night, curled up after a good round of sex. Like he hadn't used it playfully through their entire relationship. Like he hadn't used it when he ripped Patrick's heart out of his chest, then tried to put it back, acting like there wasn't blood on his hands. Like he hadn't used the nickname Trick to tear Patrick apart. 

"Yeah, uh, thanks, I guess." Patrick finally said, narrowing his eyes just a little.

Pete gave him a soft smile, but it seemed to be genuine. "I hope you enjoy it. Come back and see us."

Patrick didn't say anything, just grabbed Brendon's hand and pulled him out the door. Brendon went along of course, but his expression was confused. "Do you know him?"

"I used to," Patrick sighed, "A long time ago."

Brendon didn't press further, but Patrick could tell he was curious for more information.

That night, just before he crawled into bed with Brendon, he got a notification from twitter.

"@petewentz liked: I think I genuinely prefer the taste of just crappy diner coffee"

Patrick threw his phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i literally was just on patricks twitter just now and saw that he tweeted that and it was just too perfect.. i couldnt not include it...


	3. Chapter 3

The thing is: what do you do when you've just run into your ex that you never got proper closure with? How are you supposed to respond? Do you just ignore it, pretend it didn't happen? Reach out? Tell your finace who that was so he stops staring at your with a slightly confused expression?

Basically, Patrick didn't know. So instead of doing anything, he mostly just stressed about what to do, making him ignore Pete and the situation outwardly.

This, of course, stressed Patrick out almost more than the actual meeting: how he was reacting to it/how he was expected to react. He thought about if Pete thought he was being rude. He also thought about if Pete even cared, if seeing Patrick had even affected him.

If he was being honest, he wanted his encounter with Pete to be on Pete's mind.

He wasn't being honest.

It wasn't even until almost three weeks later that Patrick acted on it at all. He was at the bookstore, trying to see if he could order that new book all the kids had been asking about. He was about to open his mouth to ask Andy to help him find the book, when Andy beat him to the punch.

"Patrick," he called out. Patrick raised his eyebrows in Andy's direction, still looking at the paper in front of him. He could hear Andy standing up to walk over to him, so he waited until Andy continued, "I really want a latte, man. A soy milk caramel latte."

Patrick looked at him, hoping he looked collected in a way that he suddenly didn't feel at the mention of coffee. "That's cool. You could probably go get a latte if you wanted. I don't know, just an idea."

Andy leaned on the counter across from Patrick. "See, what I was thinking, is that you could go get them. You're the owner, it's not like you have a ton of shit to do."

Patrick groaned, "Andy, I don't wanna."

Andy smiled and turned around to Josh and Tyler. "Patrick's going on a coffee run!"

Patrick groaned again but told them to write down their orders. Upon reading it, he said, "A hot fudge sundae latte? Does Starbucks even have that?"

Josh shook his head. "But Cup of Destiny does and it's so good, dude."

"Oh, um," Patrick mumbled, "Kinda just figured I would go to Starbucks..."

Tyler made a face. "Why would you do that when Cup of Destiny is like, two minutes away, max?"

Patrick didn't really have an answer, so he just didn't respond. Instead, he tried to convince himself that it would be okay. Pete might not even be there today. No employee works every single day, right?

Wrong.

Pete was the first thing Patrick saw upon walking into the coffee shop. He was right -- it did look more inviting and open with the sunlight shining through the windows. Pete called out a "Welcome to Cup of Destiny! We'll be right with you!"

Patrick didn't say anything, due to not knowing what to say. Instead, he held the list the guys made and waited at the counter for Pete to turn around.

Patrick messed with the fedora he had on, and pulled his scarf a little more loose. He shook his head to let his hair maybe look nicer, and hoped he looked okay. Honestly, it didn't matter, a part of him reminded himself. Pete had woken up with Patrick more than once. Pete had seen Patrick crying, an absolute mess, and he had seen him looking his best. And Pete still continued to sleep with him anyway.

It didn't matter regardless of that though, Patrick tried to tell himself. He didn't need to impress Pete, or look good for him, or even care what Pete thought of him. He had Brendon. That was what mattered. What was supposed to, anyway.

Before he had time to feel too guilty, Pete turned around. He was still looking down when he greeted Patrick, but he smiled when he saw it was Patrick.

Patrick sighed in his mind. Pete still looked good, as always. He had looked good the last time, but Patrick hadn't let himself focus on that. He was less skinny than he used to be, obviously had some muscle built up. His hair was still black, though Patrick though he saw it some other color previously, on whatever social media. It was black now, cut short, nothing of the emo mess it used to be. His smile was still soft, but he looked older, probably due to the slight facial hair and the fact that he actually was older. Still, either way, he looked just as good as he always did.

"You came back," is what Pete says.

Patrick still wasn't sure what he expected to Pete to say, but he's not quite sure it was that.

"Yeah, um. Close. The shop, I mean. Is close. Uh, to my work." He hated how unsure of himself he sounded.

Pete didn't seem to notice, though. "Oh yeah? Where do you work?"

Patrick shifted, wondered if he should tell Pete. It's not like it really matters, none of this is really important. So, he decided to just be honest. "The bookstore, down the way? Between the Pages. Have you ever heard of it?"

Pete's eyebrows shot up, "Yeah! Yeah, definitely, Mikey went in a couple times. You work there?"

Patrick tried to rake his memory. Surely, he would have caught sight of Mikey coming in. The infamous mikeyway. Maybe Mikey came in when Patrick wasn't working, or even when he was in the back, perhaps. Either way, he suddenly realized he still hadn't responded to Pete, who was standing there, clearly waiting for a response. Shit, what had Pete even said? Oh! Right! "I, uh, own it actually."

Pete grinned. "Oh, dude, no way! That's so cool! You always wanted to do that, I know," but before Patrick was even given a chance to say anything else, Pete continued, "I own this place, actually."

Patrick nodded before he said, "Oh, cool. Happy for you. It's really cute in here, actually. Coffee wasn't so bad the last time, either. Brendon really liked it." Really, Patrick hadn't meant to mention Brendon, but it wasn't unusual for Patrick to just slip Brendon into his conversations. Patrick figured it was okay, since Pete had mentioned Mikey.

"Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I don't really know what made me want a coffee shop, or even to own a business. I just woke up one day and thought a coffee shop would be nice. So," Pete waved his hand around, "here we are."

Patrick smiled, and looked down at his list. "So you can probably help me with all of these, then?"

Pete reached out to take the list from Patrick. "Sure thing, Trick. What size? Which one is yours?"

"Oh, I guess medium for all of them. I don't have mine written on there, actually. Didn't know what I would want. Can you just make me something? But like, a tea maybe? Just something with no caffeine or poison."

Pete smiled and nodded, turning away from Patrick to start on the drinks.

"Wait," Patrick called out, "How much do I owe you?"

Pete didn't answer until he was handing a cup holder to Patrick. "Tell you what. If you promise to come see me again, I'll give you these on the house."

Despite Patrick not being sure that was a good idea, he agreed anyway. Just as he turned to leave, Pete held out a finger, indicating Patrick wait. He did, not sure what Pete wanted.

Pete walked out from behind the counter, and took the cup holder out of Patrick's hands, setting it on the bar. Patrick was only confused for a second before he understood.

Pete wrapped his arms around Patrick, holding him close. Patrick couldn't help the way his body naturally leaned into Pete and how his arms automatically pulled Pete in, too. Pete smelled the same as he always did, and it comforted Patrick in a way he didn't expect.

"Missed you," Pete told him, whispering in his hair.

Patrick just nodded. They stood there for a second before Patrick pulled back, before it got to be too much. "Pete," Patrick said. It came out like a warning, but Patrick didn't know what he was warning Pete of.

"Sorry," Pete told him, when they pulled back. "I didn't mean to do that, really."

"I miss you, too, you know," Patrick told him, just as quite as Pete had been.

"I know, how could you not? I'm on the best thing that ever happened to you," Pete winked, and despite the weight of that sentence, Patrick somehow felt lighter. "My number is on your cup. Text me or something."

Patrick just nodded before turning to walk out of the shop.

\---

**Patrick: Hey, is this Pete?**

_Pete: the one and only. who r u?_

**Patrick. You told me to text you, or something. Didn't know what or something was, so, texting.**

_trick! my boy! hello_

**Hi, Pete. How are you?**

_better now tht ur texting me. u?_

Patrick hated Pete, really. Why had he thought this was a good idea? Why did he think Pete knew how to hold a conversation without flirting? He sighed, but replied anyway.

**I'm okay. Tired. Brendon isn't home yet, so I'm just hanging out.**

_o cool. he's friends with spencer, right?_

**Yes. That's actually why we came in, to see Spencer.**

_not to see me? :(_

***sigh* How could I come to see you if I didn't know you would be there?**

_now u know, so u'll come to see me now, right?_

It was at that moment that Brendon walked into their bedroom. Patrick smiled at him, locked his phone, and placed it on the nightstand. Brendon smiled. When he asked if he could take Patrick out for dinner, Patrick forgot all about the text from Pete that he wouldn't respond to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I work at a propane company so its hella busy, leaving me very little time for my own shit. (also my sisters use my laptop so I hardly have access to that) not to mention the holidays and yeah sorry for the delay

_hey_

_miss u trick_

_it's been almost a week since u came in_

He glanced up from his phone after he read the texts again. Pete had sent them yesterday and Patrick was at a loss. He really didn't know what to say. It had been a few days since he had talked to Pete, now over a week since he had been in the shop. After that first night, Pete had texted him again. They had texted often throughout the next few days, but when Brendon had asked who he was texting, Patrick suddenly felt like maybe he shouldn't be talking to his ex nonstop.

The truth was, Patrick missed having Pete in his life. Pete did have a good personality and was fun to talk to. There was a reason they had been friends before sleeping together had ruined it.

He tried to keep his mind off of Pete and the coffee shop while he worked. Sometime mid-afternoon, Sarah had mentioned coffee offhandedly, and Andy had jumped in to suggest Patrick go get some.

**Do you work today?**

It was a minute or so before Pete replied, and Patrick would be less than honest if he said he wasn't stalling on purpose to wait to hear back from Pete.

_yes im here now :)_

Patrick didn't even respond, just locked his phone and asked for everyone to write down their orders. When that was done, Patrick tried to seem calm as he walked out the door to his car. (Yes, it was only a couple stores down from him, but who are you to judge that he would rather drive than walk?)

 

The first thing Patrick did upon walking into Cup of Destiny was look around for Pete. He would deny if anyone asked, but the only person he saw was a tall skinny boy with dark hair standing behind the counter, looking bored.

"Welcome to Cup of Destiny," the guy called out, not looking up from whatever he was flipping through.

Patrick smiled, but then realized that was a bit silly seeing as the kid wasn't even looking at him. Patrick also wondered why he was calling the guy a kid-- he was definitely taller than Patrick was, but couldn't be too much younger.

Squeezing the list a little tighter in his hand, he walked up to the counter. He still didn't know why coming into this coffee shop always made his pulse pick up, but it always did. He cleared his throat lightly and the guy finally looked up.

"Is, uh, is Pete here?" Patrick raised his brows.

The guy nodded, and then disappeared through the door. Patrick assumed he was going to get Pete so he just leaned on the counter and waited. He glanced down and realized he'd never really paid attention to what was on the counter. It looked like a bunch of little newspaper clippings put together, but with all the words blacked out, leaving only a few to make small sentences. Patrick rolled his eyes but smile: it was such a Pete thing to have on the counter.

Pete walked through the door then, grin growing impossibly wider when his eyes met Patrick's. Somehow, a wave of calmness swept over Patrick, while still somehow making him feel a bit of panic and nervousness. Pete had always been able to feel multiple things at once, but before those things hadn't completely contradicted themselves in the way they seemed to now.

"Pete," Patrick said, his name coming out like a sigh of relief. "I have some orders for the guys at the bookstore."

Pete smiled at Patrick. He asked for the orders, and after getting them, he handed them to the kid that had been standing at the counter when Patrick walked in. The guy groaned but made the coffees anyway, and Pete walked out from behind the counter. He motioned for Patrick to follow him to a small table near the bar.

"Sorry about Ryan, he's not the biggest fan of doing any sort of work."

Patrick raised his eyebrows, "Oh? Then why do you have him working for you?"

"He's a nice kid, and he can reach things on the top shelf," Pete told him with another grin. "It's been a minute since we've talked."

"Only a few days, really," Patrick said.

"So several minutes, then."

Patrick smiled a little, not sure how to respond. Changing the subject seemed like a safe bet, so he said, "Do you like owning this place?"

Pete quickly nodded. "Definitely. It's cool to be able to be the one to make the decisions. I never liked doing what people told me to, you know, so it's nice that no one does anymore."

"Yeah," Patrick agreed, "That's how it is for me, too. With the bookstore. I like that I'm the one in charge."

"You always liked being the boss," Pete winked and suddenly Patrick's face was burning. He knew the blush was obvious on his pale skin, and the way Pete's grin grew wicked didn't help any.

"Pete, you can't just say that," Patrick hissed, looking to see if Ryan or anyone else had heard. Of course, no one was paying attention to them but that didn't help Patrick's paranoia. 

They talked again for a few more minutes, but Ryan interrupted by letting them know the coffees were done. Patrick stood up to go get the coffees, not failing to take notice of the way Pete was standing by him. Before he grabbed the coffees, though, Pete pulled him into another hug. Patrick hugged him back with the same force Pete was using, hating the he melted in Pete's embrace.

 "Talk to me more, Patrick," Pete whispered, and it was so low that Patrick wondered if he even meant to say it aloud. "I want you around." Patrick just nodded and pulled back from Pete, who was still sporting a smile, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes like it had before.

 So he did, or he tried to at least. Patrick is being honest that he made a real effort to talk to Pete, despite it being against his better judgement. He tried his best to keep things casual, everything on the surface. One time, though, he woke up to a text from Pete from around four AM saying something about the dark still floating in his head sometimes. It wasn't that Patrick didn't care, of course he did, he just didn't want to get too emotionally invested in Pete again. It would be a very fine line that he wasn't confident he wouldn't accidentally cross.

They started talking daily again, even if it was only a few texts that day. After a couple weeks, Patrick couldn't really help but feeling like Pete was becoming a bigger part of his life again. He also felt a bit dumb for feeling like that-- after all they were only texting-- but he couldn't help it. He kept telling himself he would tell Brendon, but it never seemed like the right time to let his fiance know that his ex was back in his life. 

Brendon did come home one day, after spending time at Spencer's place, and told Patrick he had some news. Patrick closed the book he was reading, and held his arms out, to which Brendon crawled into without a second thought.

"I have to go to Texas," is what Brendon told him.

Patrick wasn't really expected that, so his eyebrows just shot up. "Um, why do you have to go across the country?"

Brendon kissed Patrick's neck before continuing. Patrick knew he was doing it to make himself more comfortable. It was something he had started doing early in their relationship when he was nervous. "You know how Spencer's sister moved down there?" Patrick nodded even though he really didn't and Brendon continued, "Well, one of her kids is sick. Like, really sick. In the hospital. So I'm gonna go with Spencer to help him help them for a few days. It won't be that long. Less than a week," Brendon told him, rushing towards the end. Patrick knew that meant he was nervous about what his response would be. 

Patrick sighed, his heart falling a little. That would mean at least three days, at least three nights, that he would come home to an empty apartment. At least three nights that he would sleep in their bed alone, feeling Brendon's place next to him, empty and cold. He knew it wasn't a huge deal. But it wasn't something he was excited about having to deal with.

"Yeah, babe, if you feel like you need to go support him. That's okay. I'll miss you," Patrick pulled him closer.

Brendon wiggled so that their bodies were lined up and touching completely. "I'll call you every single night." Patrick hummed, but before he could ask, Brendon told him, "I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm sorry it's such short notice. It was short notice for Spencer too."

Patrick kissed Brendon and told him it was okay, even though he knew Brendon knew he didn't like the idea too much. But Patrick was not going to tell Brendon what he could and could not do, especially when it involved helping one of his dear friends.

Tomorrow came and went, and the first night without Brendon was the worst. Patrick reached out more than once to feel for Brendon, and around three he woke up, unable to sleep well without the warm body in the bed with him.

He had only been awake for about ten minutes when his phone started vibrating on the nightstand. Surprised to see the name on the screen, he answered hesitantly. 

"Pete? What's up?"

"Patrick," Pete said, almost sounding surprised. "I didn't know if you would answer. Wait, did I wake you up?"

Patrick first shook his head, then told Pete no when he realized Pete couldn't see him. "Nah, Bren isn't here so I couldn't sleep. What's up? Everything okay?"

Pete sighed loudly, "Can I come over?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should probably see my therapist before I continue with this fic but OH WELL. ps sorry for the long wait, my mind has been in a not good place.

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting when Pete came over. All he knew was that he hadn't intended for Pete to be drunk giggling on his couch. Patrick poured another glass of wine for each of them. Pete was way more drunk than he was, but that was okay. They were just laughing, talking, enjoying each other's company. The way it was before it all ended. Patrick knew he had missed being around Pete like this, but actually reliving it intensified the feeling. Something about being with him in what felt like such an intimate setting, made Patrick feel a weird sense of home. He tried to ignore it, but when Pete smiled at him, completely drunk and open, Patrick couldn't help but smile back. 

Pete had only been at Patrick's for about thirty minutes or so now. Patrick knew he couldn't have gotten that drunk that fast, so he suspected that he wasn't quite sober when he got there. He had yet to tell Patrick what was actually wrong. Patrick knew better than to ask. Pete would tell him when he was ready. It was getting closer to four in the morning, though. Patrick didn't really have to go to the store in the morning, but he had planned to. Even so, he knew if he stayed up much longer, he would really regret it by the time he did fall asleep. 

"Pete," Patrick said, reaching out to touch Pete's arm. He wouldn't have done it had it not been for the wine, but honestly he didn't care right now. "Pete, are you staying the night?"

"Oh, um," Pete looked around. "I don't know. I just didn't want to be home. Mikey was... I just had to get out. If that's okay with you, that's okay with me?" He sounded unsure. 

Patrick knew it wasn't the best idea, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine. Of course," Patrick told him, and with how he sounded, he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or Pete that it was actually okay. He knew deep down that this was his way of trying to take care of Pete, like he always had done, but he wasn't sure why. He tried to briefly remind himself that Pete had essentially stomped all over his heart and pretend as though nothing had happened. Despite Pete being a few years older, Patrick always felt like it was his job to make sure Pete was okay. Funny how some things never changed.

He got up to go get some blankets a pillow from the closet. "Sorry, we don't have a guest room. Hopefully the couch will be okay?"

Pete nodded, taking the pillow and blankets. Patrick stepped forward, about to offer to make the couch up for him, but Pete waved him off. He stood there for a second, just watching Pete.

Even in all his mess, Pete was gorgeous. There was no way Patrick could deny that. He had on some sweat pants and an old t-shirt that Patrick recognized from before. His hair was a mess, his eyes had bags, and he looked exhausted. And yet, Patrick wasn't sure anything was more beautiful.

"Why are you watching me?" Pete said, not looking up from the sheets he was holding.

"You just look good, I guess," and as soon as the words came out, Patrick realized he hadn't really meant to say them.

Pete raised his eyebrows and sat on the couch, pulling the covers around him. "You're not so bad yourself. You look even better now than you did before."

Patrick blushed, but even with the amount of wine in his system and his almost asleep state, he knew that if this conversation continued, it could lead to things he wasn't ready to deal with just yet. So instead of saying anything else, he smiled and gave a simple, "Goodnight, Pete," before walking to his bedroom.

Maybe it was the guilt he couldn't help but feel that his ex was sleeping on his couch while his fiancé was gone, or maybe he really did miss Brendon, but either way he sent a quick **hurry home bren. miss you so much.** text before rolling over and letting sleep consume him.

When he woke up the next morning around ten, Pete was gone. Patrick didn't know why he was so surprised; had he really been expecting Pete to just hang around all day?  Patrick knew that he likely just had to be at the coffee shop, or something else reasonable, but he sort of felt like how he had when he would wake up without Pete all those years ago. He ignored it as best as he could, making coffee and starting his day off how he always would.

After he had a few minutes to really wake up, he glanced at the clock: 10:23AM. The store had only been open for about an hour and a half, so he wouldn't be too late if he went in.  It took him a second before realizing what day it was. He had four employees there by now, so they definitely didn't need him. Did he really have to spend all day there? It took him a second to think about it, but he knew if he didn't that he wouldn't have much else to do with Brendon being gone.

Speaking of, Brendon had replied to his text. I'll be home soon, miss you more than you know my love. Patrick's heart flared and he remembered just how much he truly loved Brendon, and how lucky he was that Brendon loved him, too.

Patrick went on with his day, trying to ignore all thoughts of Pete. He did end up going to the bookstore, and was glad he did because it got pretty busy. He didn't walk through his door until about eight that night, feeling the exhaustion from all day and the night before as soon as he was in the comfort of his own home.

 He fell asleep easier than he had the night before, even though he still rolled over and reached for Brendon in his sleep.

 

The next few days went on as normal, and Brendon came home after being gone for five days. He was happy to have him back, to be able to hold and kiss him. As soon as he saw Brendon, it was like he let out a deep breath he didn't know he had been holding in. Brendon made things make sense again.

He didn't really talk to Pete for the next few days, until the day Brendon got home. Brendon had wanted to go get a cup of coffee and Patrick was in no position to tell him no. He ordered a cup of tea for himself, knowing that caffeine was not the best idea when he was feeling so nervous. Having Pete and Brendon in the same room made the air feel less, despite Patrick trying to convince himself nothing was wrong. Had he even done anything wrong? He had let an old friend stay the night when things were rough at his house. Brendon would've done the same, surely.

Something in the back of Patrick's mind told him that Brendon would've told Patrick, though, especially if it someone he had once been in love with and slept with regularly.

Pete smiled though and played nice, and Brendon seemed to have forgotten Patrick mentioning knowing him before. If he hadn't, he didn't bring it up. Patrick was thankful for the little things.

Spencer was there too, which was mostly Brendon's distraction while they waited for their coffee. Ryan was there again as well, Patrick noticed. It only took a few minutes for their coffee to be ready, and thankfully Brendon was eager to get home. Patrick was eager to have him home again, so they left after calling out their thank-you's. Pete winked at Patrick when Brendon wasn't looking and Patrick had to fight the urge to sigh. What had he gotten himself into?


End file.
